I’m not gonna lie to you. This was a taxing trip on many levels, despite being a mere five weeks long. Even though all the protests and bombs and airport closures in Thailand never affected me directly, there was a definite feeling in the air, particularly in Bangkok and Chiang…

Now I realize that there’s really never a convenient time to descend into jabbering insanity, but one would at least hope that such a singular event might be preceded by, I don’t know, a heads-up? A courteous note of forewarning? Just so one can put their affairs in order or…

Yangon Again and Interview With a Myanmar: In which the author returns to Burma’s capital, enjoys a rest day, has the final and mother of all hissy fits, makes an ass of himself, then abruptly transitions into an interview with a local that he conducted at an unnamed location and…

Bagan: In which the author starts to discover the upper limits of ass torture that a human can endure, barely fights off repeated bouts of dehydration, finds himself in the un-amusing position of having less cash than most of the destitute locals, decides to walk through one of the most…

Mandalay: In which the author realizes a new level of over-night bus misery, rents a bicycle, rides said bicycle through an unspeakably filthy, polluted city, becomes perturbed at various authority figures, learns about gold leaf, has the first of several hissy fits, has the second of several hissy fits, rests,…

Inle Lake: In which the author takes a sadistic 18-hour, over-night bus trip to one of Burma’s most fascinating destinations, discusses the state of driving, reflects on incessant misery, encounters his first serious shyster, tours the lake villages, enjoys being the center of attention wherever he goes, considers apprenticeship, marriage,…

Mostly Unfunny, But Necessary Introduction: In which I build up to my epic 2005 travelogue of Burma with a slightly less epic introduction, full of disclaimers, caveats, an abbreviated history and nude photos of myself*. This leads into my arrival in Yangon, where I begin with the incredibly detailed, blow-by-blow…

As my ragtag little group of Twitter followers already know, I am leaving in less than a week for a five week trip through Thailand and Burma. I am not taking this trip for an assignment or for research. This trip is what I believe normal humans refer to as…

Last week, I got into a “Twitter Tiff” (copyright me 2008) with long-haul traveler and photography phenom Gary Arndt over the following tweet, which I sent out while gripped in jabbering frustration over a spate of recent blog posts ripping people that carry a guidebook when they travel: I declare…

When researching Romania and Moldova for Lonely Planet, I’m also obliged to visit the self-declared, breakaway republic of Transdniestr (A.K.A. ‘Transnistria’). It’s yet another one of those countries-that-don’t-exist jobbies that you hear about occasionally in the news. Though they haven’t had any headline-grabbing military action since the brief, but bloody…